cat's-claw

American  

[kats-klaw] / ˈkætsˌklɔ /

noun

1. a spiny shrub or small tree, Pithecellobium unguis-cati, of Central America, having greenish-yellow flowers and reddish, spirally twisted pods.

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Etymology

Origin of cat's-claw

First recorded in 1750–60

Example Sentences

Well known cat's-claw and cactus clumps had disappeared.

From The Forbidden Trail by Morrow, Honoré

Yesterday it had slept unborn in a nook of the sand-hills, the abiding-place of cat's-claw, mesquit, and flickering lizards.

From McClure's Magazine, Vol. 31, No. 1, May 1908 by Various

There's a man standing in that clump of cat's-claw ahead.

From McClure's Magazine, Vol. 31, No. 1, May 1908 by Various

Rhoda yawned, rose sleepily, looked under her blanket and shook her, head irritably, then dragged her blankets toward the neighboring cat's-claw.

From The Heart of the Desert Kut-Le of the Desert by Morrow, Honoré

As Havasu Creek is lined with willows that are admirably adapted for basket-making, and as an abundant supply of martynia, or cat's-claw, is found on the plateaus above, this Canyon is a veritable basket-makers' paradise.

From The Grand Canyon of Arizona; how to see it by James, George Wharton